Recently I was determined to be more creative in my diet. I felt I needed to eat more fruits and vegetables. Raw vegetables are the best for you even though these are not my favorite. Raw vegetables have the most vitamins and minerals because they are not cooked out. Fruits are great too. So I decided to utilize my bounty from the blueberry picking this past summer and headed for the freezer. One way to do this is in a Smoothie.

Being lactose intolerant I miss those lunchtime milk shakes with grandma when I was growing up. So I began a search for smoothie recipes with soy on the Internet. I ended up putting my own together and it came out quite tasty.

Blueberry Banana Smoothie

• 12 ounces of soy milk (not light or low fat)
• ¾ cup to 1 cup of frozen blueberries
• 2 small or 1 large frozen banana
• 2 teaspoons of wheat germ (optional)

Blend the above ingredients in a blender until smooth.

Tip: When bananas get past the point where you do not like to eat them, slice them up and put the above amount in a Ziplock and freeze. I found this is so much easier than trying to skin and slice a frozen banana. You then have the correct amount and you can pop them right into the blender. Make sure the fruit is frozen. It makes the smoothie cold and icy. This recipe makes a tall ice tea sized glass so make sure you are hungry.

If you are not lactose intolerant, try your own version of milk.